# Do Not Shred Your Fingers In An Actual Blender

I recently gave some bad advice [in this essay](/try-erp):

> Luckily, LLMs significantly reduce the effort/cost of therapy experiments.
> Consider trying the following prompt:
>
> > Please guide me through a round of ERP therapy. Start by listing universal
> > sources of fear/discomfort/anxiety.
>
> If you find this process useful, consider trying it with a licensed human
> professional.

I think this advice is dangerous if taken too seriously/literally, which is why
I removed it.

This is how that passage sounded in my head:

> - I recently discovered blenders. Blenders are cool.
> - If you're curious about blenders, consider playing Blender Simulator 2000.
> - If you enjoy that game, I recommend purchasing a Vitamix and thoroughly
>   following instructions.

That's how I felt, but that's not what I wrote.

To chat with Claude is to play Human Simulator 2000. It's a
[bag of words](https://www.experimental-history.com/p/bag-of-words-have-mercy-on-us).
It is neither friend, nor coworker, nor foe, nor therapist.

Yes, sometimes LLMs can simulate humans. Yes, sometimes those simulations can be
useful. But be wary of a simulation if you can't verify its accuracy/efficacy.
When you cannot yet distinguish fact from fiction, relying on a fiction pump
seems unwise.

Do not shred your fingers in an actual blender.